Outside Observer
by CrazyAlwaysClueNever
Summary: Set while Luke and Lorelai are broken up. JavaJunkie. What if Emily had not been the reason for Luke going to 'see' Lorelai that night. What is it was a conversatin with someone else enitirly. Oneshot. R


If it were mine do you think Luke would have a long lost daughter?

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Luke Danes was still furiously contemplating the visit of one Emily Gilmore to his diner when he heard the bell above the door ring despite the closed sign for the second time that night.

Wondering casually if everyone in the world had suddenly become illiterate "We're closed!" he yelled viciously at whoever dared disturb him when he was slowly but surly removing his countertop with a mere rag.

"I know I was just hoping I could use your phone my car broke down right outside and it doesn't look like anyone else is awake." He looked up the voice sounded as tired as he felt. He was greeted by the image of a girl about 20 if he was right wearing worn out jeans and a sweatshirt.

"Fine." he pointed to the phone.

"Thank you."

She quickly called a tow truck rattled of her information hung thanked him again and went outside stared at a small navy blue car obviously second or possibly third hand with smoke pouring out of from under the hood. The girl shivered and sat down on the curb glancing down the empty streets he noticed through the smoke that her backseat had a pillow an empty fast food box and a suitcase in it. Whoever this girl was she was not staying here or anywhere close by. She was running.

He looked at her again she seemed different than Rory or any of Rory's friends. She was the same age but she looked more world worn and weary than them. More than someone here age should he thought idly and he hoped that whatever she was running from stayed behind her. It didn't seem that it had done her any good. She shivered in the wind and he sighed frustrated, he could feel the morals and manners his mother had taught him that usually stayed repressed with his memories where such things belonged. But now all those years listening to her had come back to bite him in the ass.

He pushed open the door "Get in here." He growled at her she twisted around and looked at him for a second then jumped up and went in without a word something told him life had taught this girl not to look a gift horse in the mouth or whatever the stupid saying was, because what the hell does looking in a horses mouth got to do with anything and why would anyone be motivated to look in a horses mouth in the first place was beyond him. He shook his head as if to dislodge the mental rant before it went farther.

The girl sat down at the counter "Coffee." He grunted.

"Please." She rubbed her arm obviously grateful for the warmth of the small dinner.

He slammed the cup onto the counter and where any citizen of Stars Hollow would have leapt in the air she simply raised an eyebrow. He turned and grabbed the coffee pot pouring so violently some sloshed over the rim with a mumbled curse he slammed the pot spilling more coffee on the counter he grabbed a rag wiped the counter off while glaring at it like it had personally ruined his life. He finished pouring whipped around and shoved the coffee pot back into the coffee machine spilling yet again with another curse he wiped it up and threw the rag into the kitchen now blaming it for his life's woes.

All throughout this performance the girl had sat still with a simple eyebrow raised not moving a muscle as her eyes tracked his furious stomping behind his counter. When he had finished and stood knuckles white and the counter edge laser glaring at the floor nostrils flaring like a bull she briefly raised both before they settled back to their proper place above her eyes.

She rested her elbows on the counter and looked at her coffee as she lifted a sweet and low packet "So…" her voice trailed off as she shook the packet "who is she?" she finished ripping open the pink paper. His fish impression lasted until she had dumped the sweet and low into her coffee and taken a sip. Her eyes finally landed on him and snapped back to reality.

"Who's who."

The eyebrow went back up "Do you honestly expect me to believe that you're near demolishing your own dinner while laser glaring at everything in sight and there's not a woman involved." She didn't wait for an answer "Yeah and I'm the queen of Sheba."

He grabbed a hand full of saltshakers and began slamming them onto tables.

"It might make you feel better." He glared at her "It might help you work things out." He glared again "It might make me shut up."

"I don't even know you."

"That's kind of the point. I don't know you so I can't take your story and twist it round on you. And I'll be gone by morning so you can all the things you feel like shouting at everyone who looks at you and I won't be able to tell someone you don't want to know about it. And I can't nag you about it so why not tell me. You'll never see me again."

He considered it. The kid had a point. So he told her. A story about a horoscope then about eight years of guys which all came with a thought out con list attached to their name. Then a wedding, and a kiss and a first date where he told her the horoscope story.

"That's very romantic… but?" she made a continue gesture.

"But what?"

She tilted her head "But if that's the end of the story then why is it possible for someone who doesn't even know you to walk into your diner and tell your having woman troubles?" she gave him an unnervingly knowing look. "Come on, what happens next?"

So he told her about days and weeks more, the happiest of his life. Then about a pair of rich parents who hated his guts, and a vow renewal ceremony where the father of her child, who had a habit of coming in turning their lives inside out and upside down and raising their hopes then in a few days leaving all over again and gutting those hopes, came back this time with more gut wrenching action than ever when he reveled a lie and a bottle of tequila. He told her about time and a horrible moment in a grocery store and a message on his answering machine and ended it all with that night when the mean rich mother came to his diner to tie his brain and his heart up in knots all over again.

She took it in for a moment then asked him the last thing he had expected, well he really hadn't expected it at all "Are you stupid?"

"What?" he was baffled to say the least.

"You waited for this women for 8 years. Watching her go out with disaster after disaster until she finally goes out with you and then she makes one stupid half drunk at the time mistake and before you can say 'purple pimpernel' you're down the hall, you're out the door, you're gone. If this is your reaction maybe it was best for her not to tell you." She paused. "She loves you. And you more than obviously love her so what the hell are you sticking around here for? Go get your girl. I mean I know her parents don't like you but you're not getting into a relationship with her parents, you're getting into a relationship with her. She's a big girl and she can decide who she wants to be with all by herself without mommy's approval and from what I understand her mother not liking you is pretty much a point in your favor as far as she's concerned anyway. So forget what her parents think forget what her ex thinks, which by the way he is her ex so she did pick you over him, because who cares what they think this is your life and you've wasted 8 years of it waiting around for someone else's fingers to do the walking for you already." She glanced outside "that's my tow truck so thank you for the coffee, I'm going to go get hauled out of this town, and you go fix a very screwed up situation."

She hopped off the stool and went outside where she talked to the tow truck guy for a minute then climbed in and rumbled out of sight. He stood pondering for a moment then he realized she was right. He was putting them both through this for no good reason. He flashed back to an animated movie she made him watch in which a drunken wasp had said to the leading role (who also happened to be an ant) "Go get the women you love Z." and before you could say 'purple pimpernel' he was gone to get his girl in true bugs life/ double-0 7 fashion.

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Whoever can tell me what movie 'purple pimpernel' is from gets a cookie.


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